Contractor sues over work on MASN studio

Media

December 19, 2006|By Jeff Barker | Jeff Barker,Sun Reporter

A union contractor alleges that officials connected to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which is majority-owned by the Orioles, backed out on a deal in which the contractor was to help construct a new studio in downtown Baltimore.

The contractor, Arctic Refrigeration of Ellicott City, said in a recent Circuit Court action that it is owed more than $1 million because it supplied labor and material for the proposed studio in a building on the 200 block of North Charles Street.

Arctic - which provides heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing - says it began work earlier this year after receiving a letter of intent from Artemis Properties Inc., a construction project manager.

The civil action, filed last month, says Arctic received notice from Artemis in July to immediately stop work. Arctic says it has received only a small portion of the money it is owed.

Named as defendants are Artemis; PGA 210 North Charles Street, which owns the North Charles property; and TCR Sports Broadcasting Holdings, which uses MASN as its trade name.

The defendants say there are questions about whether the work was properly authorized and whether invoices were presented properly. "We didn't get them when we were supposed to get them," Thomas Beach, an attorney for the defendants, said yesterday in an interview.

Beach said he had no information on why work was halted or where MASN might now build a studio. MASN spokesman Todd Webster declined to comment.

Arctic is seeking a lien against PGA's and TCR's interest in the property for the value of the work performed on the building.

A trial is expected in May, according to both parties.

MASN is to broadcast Orioles games and Washington Nationals games in the 2007 baseball season.